COOKHAM   PARISH   COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of the

 FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE

PRESENT:            M. Wellman (Chairman)

Cllrs: M. Barnes, P. Brockwell, M. Coker, G. Harris, R. Piercey,

A. Prichard, J. Stretton and H.J. Woodbridge.

1.                  APOLOGIES AND DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: Apologies were received from Cllr Fairlie. There were no Declarations of Interest.

2.            REVIEW OF ACCOUNTS IN CURRENT YEAR 2004/5: The amended figures from the previous month were tabled at the meeting. In the General Account the cost of the lights for the Christmas trees was an unplanned additional expenditure. However, the Clerk explained that approx. £813 was due to be refunded by the firm, Michael Shanley. Cllr Prichard recorded a vote of thanks to the Clerk for all her efforts to get the new lights on the trees. No problems were found with the Footpaths & Open Spaces account. On the Adoptive Acts account it was noted that the Committee wished to make the path edging project at the Cemetery the major initiative for the new year. This would cost approx. £5,000 and would need to be approved by Full Council. There was a total of £61,776.52 in the bank account but subtracting the reserves would leave approx. £46,000. The Chairman asked the Clerk if she could make it her priority to sort out the situation with the payment for energy on street lighting before the end of this financial year.

The Chairman formally proposed to discuss the next item under Standing Order section 66. This was seconded by Cllr Prichard and AGREED unanimously by the Committee.

3.            REVIEW STAFFING ARRANGEMENTS FOR PARISH OFFICE:

4.            REVIEW ALLOWANCES FOR PARISH COUNCILLORS: The Chairman confirmed since approval by Full Council the allowance were set at £1 per Councillor. Cllr Prichard said that he was against allowances and Cllr Barnes agreed. Cllr Woodbridge said that the allowances were intended to cover the cost incurred by being a Councillor that you would not normally incur and he proposed that the sum of £50 per Councillor should be allowed in the budget. This was seconded by Cllr Stretton with a rider that whatever was not taken would be donated to charity. Vote: IN FAVOUR = 3, AGAINST = 3, ABSTENTION = 3. The Chairman used his casting vote against the motion. Cllr Woodbridge asked for a named vote. Those IN FAVOUR = 3 (Cllrs Woodbridge, Stretton and Coker), AGAINST = 3 (Cllrs Wellman, Prichard and Barnes), ABSTENTION = 3 (Cllrs Brockwell, Piercey and Harris). The Chairman then proposed to leave the budget unchanged for the next financial year.

5.                  REVIEW OF 106 FUNDING AND METHOD OF CLAIMING MONIES: The Committee discussed the flow chart supplied by RBWM last summer and agreed that this did not adequately explain the process of claiming monies. The Clerk brought the Committee up-to-date with her telephone conversation with James Fox at RBWM. It now seems that the Parish Council have to claim monies by writing to the Case Officer at the time an application may result in funds being available. This cannot be done retrospectively. After the Case Officer has been informed, the monies will only be released once the development begins or when complete and occupied. Furthermore there is no guarantee that the Parish Council project will be chosen from the list to benefit.We currently have three projects on the approval list – CCTV cameras for Alfred Major; Astroturf football pitch on Alfred Major and Skateboarding Park on Alfred Major. It was AGREED that the Clerk should query the flow chart and ask RBWM for an up-to-date method of claiming these monies. 

6.            FINALISE BUDGET FOR THE NEXT FINANCIAL YEAR 05-06: The Chairman had included an extra column in italics which were the figures he would like to reach by the end of the next financial year. The present budget in column three only gives the Council an end of year total of £8,679.31 whereas the revised figures would leave us with a total of £18,179.31. The Chairman then ran through how he would achieve these figures. In the General account, the allowances for legal fees, office maintenance, repairs to Cemetery Cottage would be adjusted to leave a total expenditure of £40,160 rather than £41,660. In the Footpaths and Open Spaces Committee, the allowances for Grass mowing and footpath maintenance would be adjusted to leave a total expenditure of £14,550 rather than £16,050.00. In the Adoptive Acts Committee, the Cemetery maintenance and regeneration of allotments would be adjusted to leave a total expenditure of £25,330 rather than £27,830. On the Income figures, the Chairman has put up the expected monies due from the Cemetery to give a total income of £80,522 rather than £76,522. It was also the view of the Committee than the price of Exclusive Rights along with the Clerk’s fees should be reviewed as they had not changed for some time.

7.            FINALISE PRECEPT REQUEST FOR 05-06: The precept has been increased by £4,000 over the last two years to £52,000. Cllr Woodbridge felt that the figures were relying too heavily on the increased income from the Cemetery. He said that the Parish Council had made a mistake during the period where they did not increase the precept from £48,000. On the proposal from Cllr Prichard, seconded by Cllr Coker it was AGREED  to increase the precept by a further £2,000 to £54,000.

The meeting ended at 10.20pm.